Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTNs) intrinsically include techniques for authenticating users wishing to communicate. For example, the inherent nature of dialing a telephone number provides a relatively high-level of assurance of who is on the other end of the line. The move to cellular and mobile devices also provides a relatively high degree of certainty of the identity with whom you are communicating through a variety of identifiers. In this regard, identifiers such as the Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID) and the International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI) provide assurances that an initiator is communicating with whom he or she intended to call.
However, the advent, and subsequent rise, of smart phones, as well as improved Voice over IP (VOIP) solutions, allow users to communicate without the intrinsic authentication provided by traditional calling techniques. For example, users may download applications, like Skype and Google Hangouts, that allow them to communicate from any device after logging in with a username and password. While this provides a level of convenience, there is the possibility that a user's username and password are compromised and a malicious user may communicate on a user's behalf. Thus, there is a need, in communication applications, for a call initiator to authenticate a called party when initially establishing the communication channel to ensure the initiator is communicating with whom they intended.